WASHINGTON — A US attorney violated Justice Department policy by leaking information to the media to retaliate against a federal agent who helped expose the department’s botched federal “Fast and Furious” gun-running operation, an inspector general said yesterday.

Burke resigned after acknowledging that he leaked information to Fox News about Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives whistleblower John Dodson.

Dodson had gone to Congress with complaints about the program, which allowed roughly 2,000 guns to be sent to Mexico in hopes of tracking them to drug cartel leaders. But the ATF lost track of most of the guns.

Burke leaked information showing that Dodson himself had proposed a similar action in which he sold six weapons which were lost.